Carnival Corporation, owners of successful cruise line P&O, have revealed that their new ship, set to launch in February 2015, will be named Britannia. They announced the name of the ship after learning that the Queen had no objections to P&O using the name, which has been for years associated with the Royal Yacht.
P&O’s Britannia is set to be an incredible 1,082 feet long – the equivalent of more than four Airbus A380 planes. It will hold a 4,372 passengers and 1,400 crew, making it their largest ship ever, by quite some way. It will weigh 25,000 tons more than any of the other ships in P&O’s fleet.
Watch the P&O Britannia Video
P&O have stated that Britannia is set to be ‘built exclusively for Britain’, presumably in order to cater to its majority British passengers. Richmond International have been commissioned to design the new ship and it is set to ‘wow…with her striking décor and breathtaking interiors…designed to make you feel special, her rooms have been planned with imagination and flair, while bold features create a real talking point.’
The ship is set to incorporate the best features from its other ships such as Aurora and Azura, both of which are firm favourites with passengers. Britannia is also set to have more single berth cabins than any other cruise ship, in order to cater to the growing solo cruise travel market. Many of the single berth cabins are also set to have balconies, allowing their inhabitants to enjoy the same comforts as everyone else on board without paying a premium to do so.
It will have four different swimming pools on board, which will surely appeal to passengers and especially to families with children. Britannia will also have thirteen different bars for passengers to choose from, as well as thirteen restaurants and cafes for passengers to dine in.
The keel of the new Britannia has already been laid. This took place in Monfalcone shipyard in Italy on May 15th 2013. The keel consists of six different parts and weighs a phenomenal 408 tons.
The name of P&O’s latest ship was announced at around the same time as the Carnival Corporation faced yet another stumbling block. One of their ships from the Princess line, Royal Princess, lost power completely during a Mediterranean cruise between the Greek island of Mykonos and the Italian port of Naples. The cruise had to then be cut short and the ship has now been taken to Barcelona for repair.
Hopefully the announcement of the name of its latest cruise ship will mark a turning point for Carnival Corporation, who have suffered from many setbacks in the last few years. They own the Costa Cruise line, which tragically struck rocks off the Italian island of Giglio, claiming the lives of thirty two passengers and crew on board early last year.
What are your views on the size of these mega ships. Prefer something smaller?
Thanks Emma
